Firsts
by lulamae-golightly
Summary: A collection of drabbles about R and his first experiences with just about everything. Bookverse!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I ended up watching the movie Warm Bodies about a week or two ago. I liked it pretty well, but when I heard there was a book, for some reason I _had_ to get my hands on it. I did, and ended up reading it in two days, then almost immediately searched for fanfiction, which there isn't enough of, but I'm here to fix that. ;-)**

**This is a little collection of drabbles of R's "first times" and experiences as a human...no, not like that (maybe. That might change), ranging from happy and fluffy to sad and quiet. This is in the bookverse, which means General Grigio is dead.**

**Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion, I just felt like playing with his characters for awhile.**

**Chapter 1: Sleep**

The ride home was quiet, but R and Julie were greeted warmly by Nora, who dressed R's wounds carefully while Julie stood by, a halfhearted smile on her lips. After Nora was done with him, she drew her best friend into her arms. "He's gone," Julie murmured into Nora's frizzy hair. R felt hopeless just watching.

"It's gonna be okay, sweetie," she rocked her back and forth slowly. "You're gonna be okay." Julie Grigio had seen so many people die, had watched her mother run away, seen her boyfriend eaten by someone she came to love, and now she had seen her father fall off a roof. R's mouth fell open as he realized Julie was an orphan now. It hurt to see her cry, not the kind of hurt from his shot shoulder, but an awful ache in his chest that spread to his stomach. It startled him.

"Oh, R," Julie said breathlessly, leaving Nora's arms and falling into his. "You need rest. I'm sorry,"

"N-no...don't apologize..." he stuttered.

"You two get some rest," Nora waved them off. "I'm gonna head to bed myself." she often stayed at Julie's house; she had practically lived there since she was a teenager. Now that her father was gone, she was considering seriously living with them. They said their goodnights and walked into their respective bedrooms.

"I'm gonna take a shower," Julie said, kissing R's cheek and quickly heading into the bathroom. As soon as she was done, she sent him in. He remembered taking a shower when Nora and Julie gave him a makeover to pass time, but this was different. He had living skin with a normal flesh color (still a bit pale but no longer gray), and when the water had first hit it gave him goosebumps, which was also new.

"G-god, this is _weird,_" R whispered to himself, nearly amused.

When he got out of the shower and dressed himself in the clothes Julie had left for him: a too big t-shirt and comfy flannel pants. He liked the feel of the fabric against his skin. He stepped out of the steamy bathroom and into the colder bedroom (he noticed every temperature change, every sensation he felt), where Julie was waiting with some water and a bowl of dry cereal. He ate and drank slowly, but grimaced when he tasted the cereal.

"Tasteless...c-cardboard." he commented, and Julie chuckled.

"I know it's not very good, but I don't want you to eat too much. You'll throw up." He raised an eyebrow. He didn't remember this 'throwing up'. "You'll figure it out soon," she promised. "Unfortunately." He didn't know what to make of this, but he decided not to question it.

"A-are you okay?" he asked her.

"I...will be." she replied.

R gently touched her face. "I am...s-so sorry, J-Julie."

She shook her head. "Let's sleep. Sleep is good." They crawled under the covers, and the nice feel of cool, clean linens was, to R's surprise, wonderful.

"Mmm," he sighed, and Julie giggled.

"Did you sleep when you were dead?"

"S-sorta...not r-really...sleep." he was frustrated that he still struggled with words. He gingerly wrapped his arms around her waist, smiling with relief when she relaxed in his arms.

"Good night," she whispered.

"N-night," he replied, and it took them awhile to fall asleep, but when they did they stayed like that, wrapped up in each other, for a very long time.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm already very much enjoying writing this little series. I love feedback, so please review! :-)**

**Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion.**

**Chapter 2: Laughter**

The first week was a bit of a mess. Nora was off working medical shifts, but she often came home early because Julie was restless and sad, and R was confused at _everything._ Sometimes she thought she was raising two children, though R didn't do much besides wander about the house examining things and sleep. _He'll settle into a normal, human routine soon,_ Nora had to tell herself several times.

After the first week, though, things began to settle again, much to her relief. She came home every night at dinner, which Julie had made out of whatever she could find in the house. It usually wasn't bad, and it was nice to sit with them after a long day. Nora was also teaching R to read. He was picking it up quickly, studying the words intently, his brows knit together. He still stumbled over words, which was very frustrating to him, but he continued to learn because he knew he wanted to.

"R," Julie called from their room. He saw her sitting on the bed with a book. "I want you to read to me."

"I-I'm not very good yet." he shrugged.

She shook her head. "Nora said you've been getting really good. C'mere." He sat down close to her on the bed and took the book from her hands. It was a very old copy of perhaps a very old book. _The Wizard of Oz._ "It's kind of cheesy and old...well, really cheesy and old," Julie explained, a faint smile tugging up the corners of her lips. "But...I just love it. My mom...she read it to me." R opened his mouth to say something, but Julie silenced him by opening the book. "Shall we?" He nodded.

With her help, he stuttered and stumbled his way through the first chapter. It was a cute little story, as whimsical and unrealistic as it could be in this sort of world, but he found himself not caring. When he finished, he looked at Julie with hopeful eyes. She had a grin spreading across her face, but her eyes were teary. "You're doing such a good job," she sighed.

"Why are you cr-crying?"

"Oh, I don't know...just thinking about my mom I guess."

"Maybe we sh-shouldn't...read this one."

"No, no, R," she replied. "It's...good to remember the happy times."

"Are you h-happy now?" he asked, and she laughed, a real laugh as tears fell down her cheeks.

"I am so happy," she laughed. "I'm so happy I'm laughing for no reason! And I'm _crying!_ God, I'm a mess." she continued to laugh, and R felt his own happiness bubble over as he began to laugh, which startled him at first, but he found the new sensation wonderful. An ache started in his stomach that felt better than any other ache, and his eyes burned as they laughed together for unknown reasons. Once it had died down, she leaned forward and kissed him, holding on tight.

Whatever happened that afternoon to cause such a plethora of emotion was always unknown to them, but they always remembered it fondly.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I've got this great theory that R is basically a hormonal teenage girl when he first is...exhumed. Like, he cries at just about everything. I dunno, it fits in my mind. :-P But then again, I, a teenage girl, can be like that too.**

**I highly encourage reviews, just so you know. ;-)**

**Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion.**

**Chapter 3: Tears**

Music was a big part of the little household R, Julie, and Nora had. Julie's iPod was playing most of the time, and sometimes R would steal it and the headphones, and lie down and listen for a few hours. One afternoon when he was home alone, he heard a particular song he couldn't stop thinking about. It started with a soft acoustic guitar, and the opening lyric made it seem as if the song was very sad.

_Love of mine, someday you will die..._

That wasn't happy.

_But I'll be close behind, I'll follow you into the dark._

Oh.

_No blinding light, or tunnels to gates of white, just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hint of a spark._

R curled up, feeling that ache in his chest again. His whole body felt heavy.

_If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied, illuminate the "no"s on their vacancy signs...if there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark._

The song continued, and he found it had left such an impact on him, such an odd feeling in his chest, that he stumbled to put it on repeat.

Later that day, his mind trailed off to thoughts of death. _What if Julie dies? What if she gets hurt out there? What if I'm all alone again?_ _God, no._ _This is all because of that song. That wonderful song._

"R?" Nora noticed him, sitting on the couch with a sad look, staring into space. "Doing okay, honey?"

"Nora," he started, "What if Julie dies?"

"Well, we all will sometime," she replied.

"I know, but...what if she gets hurt by the boneys like her dad was? What if you both die? What if-"

"R, R," she stopped him. "Why are you thinking like this?"

"I-I don't k-know," he said, sucking in a wet breath. _Oh, Lord, he's crying,_ Nora thought. "My eyes hurt. I h-hurt."

"Shh," Nora said. _Oh, God, he's basically a fourteen year old girl. Is he always gonna be like this? No, Nora, _she had to assure herself. _He'll grow out of it. He just became a human three weeks ago._

Julie walked in on Nora rubbing R's back as he cried and raised an eyebrow. "Um," she began.

"R's learning about crying,_" _her friend mouthed.

"Hey," Julie sat down by her boyfriend. "What's going on?" Nora quietly slipped off the couch.

"J-Julie..." he began, "Promise me you won't die." the blonde girl chuckled.

"Are you playing 'what if'? Like, thinking about all the bad things that could happen?"

"I-I guess..."

"What's up with that?"

"It's because of that song. O-on your iPod."

"Song?"

"'I Will Follow you Into the Dark'."

"Oh, that's a sweet song! The whole point is that true love never dies," she reached out to touch his cheek, caressing it with her thumb. "And it doesn't."

"It feels we-weird," he commented. "Crying."

She chuckled. "I know, it's awful. But sometimes it's good to cry. To let all those emotions out."

"I have too many emotions."

Now she really laughed. "I do, too. See, we work out well. We will." She laced her fingers with his, kissing his hand for reassurance. "I promise. No matter what happens. Okay?"

"O-okay." She snuggled into his chest, letting him cry into her hair for a little longer.

"Remember that time you sang Sinatra to me in the cemetery?"

"Oh, God," R chuckled now, the odd kind of laughter that comes after tears.

"That was so cute." They were quiet for another few moments, until Julie sang quietly, her voice muffled in R's chest.

_If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark._

He joined her as they repeated the last line. They meant what they sung.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Reviews are cool.**

**Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion.**

**Chapter 4: Anger**

R steadily read the last words of the book and closed it, looking hopefully at Julie, whose blue eyes were smiling. "Wow," she breathed.

"Did I d-do alright?" he asked.

"R, you've improved _so _much," she said. She leaned in to kiss him just as Nora stepped onto the balcony where they were sitting.

"What's going on?" the two quickly snapped their heads back. "Oh," she said, smirking as she realized what _was_ going on. "I'll leave you two alone."

"No! Nora, R finished the book!" Nora squeaked happily.

R was taken aback by all this excitement over a little thing he had done. _I could've done a lot better. I could've been a lot better._ He had been thinking a lot of those sort of thoughts lately. He didn't like them, but they managed to crawl into his mind, telling him everything he was doing wrong, and why wasn't he doing better? He should understand all this by now!

All this thinking put him in a bad mood, and he got up from his chair. "I need a nap," he grumbled.

"Aw, what happened?" he heard Nora ask as he walked away.

"I don't know. I think he's just tired. Maybe I need to get off his back for awhile," a hint of sadness was in Julie's voice.

_Oh, God, no, Julie, it's not your fault. It's mine._ R thought. _I'm so stupid. Why am I so stupid? _He tried to listen to music to put himself to sleep, but everything sounded wrong and off key, so he curled up in a fetal position and drifted off into an odd, uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

"R," a voice woke him. "Are you okay?" he opened his eyes, annoyed. "What happened?" it was Julie, gingerly taking his hand, a look of pure concern in her eyes.

"I just...I just wish I was _better._" his brow furrowed angrily at her.

"Better at what? R, your reading is great."

"No," he shook his head, "it's not about that it's just...I-I take up so much of your time, it's like I'm some n-new _puppy_ when...I should know all this by now and...I'm so angry with myself."

Julie silenced him. "Shh, no, no, R. You've gotten better, I keep telling you that. I know it's hard but...I'm gonna stay with you. I'll help you, me and Nora will...and you're getting to the point where you barely need help." she leaned in and gave him a real kiss then, locking her fingers with his. "Don't be mad, okay?"

"I'll...I'll try." he chuckled as she nuzzled into his neck. "Th-thank you Julie."

"You're always welcome," she said, giving him another kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Reviews make me smile.**

**Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion.**

**Chapter 5: Sickness**

The fall slowly departed, leaves falling off trees, clouds crowding the sky, grass drying up. The weather went from slightly cool to cold. Nora, who was still dutifully helping nurse the sick, went to work every day despite the weather, along with Julie, who patrolled for boneys or just helped out in general. Occasionally, R joined them, but he usually just did chores around the house. Things finally settled into a routine, with busy mornings and afternoons, but quiet and warm evenings. There were no complaints.

One _very_ cold day, R awoke and realized he felt...wrong. Not in an emotional way, not angry or sad, but there was an ache in his stomach and a lightness in his head. He was sweating, but his body was cold. _This..isn't right._ He thought, rolling over. He couldn't find the strength to get out of bed, so he fell back asleep.

* * *

When he awoke again, Nora was standing by his bed. She had obviously just come from work, her uncontrollable frizzy hair in a ponytail, her coat dirty. "Hey, sweetie," she said. "Jules told me that you looked pretty sick this morning, but she has to work, so I decided to come home early."

"Sick," R murmured. He knew what sick was. This is what it felt like? "Ick."

Nora giggled. "How're you feeling?"

"Disgusting."

"Yeah, I'd assume so," she gently placed a hand on his forehead. "Jesus, you're _burning. _You've probably got a touch of the flu from this cold weather.Are you hungry?" Before he could answer, his stomach rumbled loudly. Nora laughed again. "Well, I don't think I need an answer now."

"I don't wanna eat," R practically sounded like a child. Nora sighed.

"I know, sweetie, but you've really gotta get something in you. We don't want you starving. You've died once." R gave her a glare. "And God, you're so skinny anyway. I'll make you something."

She returned later with a tray. Canned peaches, leftover rice from the previous night's dinner, and some tea. He looked up her oddly, confused at her food choices. "I know, it's a little weird. I work with what I have." He took a small, unwilling bite from the syrupy peaches, almost too sweet for him.

"Thank you..." he murmured. He ate in silence for awhile while Nora sat and read for awhile. "Nora?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for helping me. You're a good person." she chuckled.

"Of course, R."

* * *

Julie returned a little earlier than usual. R had forced down the rest of the meal, tried to read a little bit of a book by himself, but quickly fell asleep again. She found him just waking up again. He was not fond of this odd tiredness and the restless slumbers, waking up either in a sorching hot or freezing cold.

"Hi, cutie," she laughed.

"I am _not _cute. Not right now anyway." his mouth tasted funny.

She pushed his hair back from his stick forehead, stopping a moment to run her fingers through his hair a few times. "Mmm. Well, if you don't mind I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat myself. I'll be right back in a moment. Get a little more rest." _All I've done is rest,_ he said to himself as she left. _  
_

Suddenly, his stomach lurched and something rose in his throat. His first instinct was to run (more like stumble) to the bathroom; whatever he was going to do, he didn't want to do it all him and Julie's bed. Something strange and disgusting came out of his mouth and into the toilet. "Oh, Goooooood," he groaned. "What haaaaappened?" He wretched a few more times, then finally rest his head against the wall. _  
_

"R?" Julie knocked on the doorframe (he hadn't bothered to shut the door) "What happened? Oh, Lord, did you throw up?"

"So _that's_ what 'throwing up' is? _Why, Julie, why?_" She threw her head back and laughed. "I don't think it's very funny."_  
_

"It isn't. I just remembered the first time _I _threw up."

"That's...a weird thing to remember."

"I know. But I actually ralphed on my mom's white carpet, then screamed because I thought I was dying. I was four." Even R laughed at that. She helped him off the floor and tucked him into bed. She took a quick shower, cleaned up the bathroom, and crawled into bed with him.

"I don't like being sick." he mumbled.

"No one does," she said. "You'll be okay tomorrow. I promise."

And, to R's delight, he was.

**A/N: I, too, first threw up when I was four and had no idea what had happened. I actually started yelling "What happened?". It's an odd thing to remember, but when your parents still taunt you about it well into your teenage years, it kinda sticks with ya. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Should I bump the rating up for this...? I tried not to make it super descriptive. Eh, let me know.**

**Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion**

**Chapter 6: Love**

R loved Julie. He knew he did. He had realized it quite awhile ago, but he had never said it. He wasn't sure how she would respond, and he wasn't sure how to say it.

Although the weather was consistently getting colder, Nora and Julie were spending a lot more time at work, and R joined them nearly everyday. Most of the time, they all came home exhausted.

One night, around the week before Christmas, Nora had an easy day that didn't require much work, but unfortunately R and Julie didn't. Nora got to come home early to a warm shower, but R and Julie had to stay a few extra hours in the awful cold. When they finally did get home, Julie immediately headed for the shower. R and Nora were eating dinner when they heard, "_Nora!"_

_"_What?" Nora called back.

"Did you use all the hot water?"

"Umm, maybe?" she replied, slightly amused. Her only response was a groan. R felt a little guilty for finding it funny.

Then an idea hit him. He headed for the laundry room. He had put a load of laundry in the dryer when they had gotten home, and he knew it was done by now. This meant all the towels he had put in were very warm. He laid the towels out in the shower room, going unnoticed by Julie. When he told Nora what he had done, she grinned.

"Aww, you're so sweet. She's gonna love you for that. She _hates_ cold showers."

Julie was pleasantly surprised by the warm towels. She wrapped herself in one and walked into her and R's room, smiling. He didn't look as she changed into her pajamas, despite the temptation. He wanted to know all of her, to see what she was like and to explore her-respectfully. She was so beautiful to him, and he wanted to see all of her beauty.

"Were you behind the warm towels?" she asked.

"Well...yes," she grinned, embracing him. He smirked, stroking her damp hair and relishing the feel of her warm body pressed against his.

"I love you," she murmured into his chest. Taken aback, he looked at her confusedly. That was the first time she had said anything like that.

She giggled. "I do, R."

"I...I lo-love you, too, J-Julie," he replied. Though his speech had gotten much better, he found himself stumbling across them now, though he was entirely sincere. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her with all the love that had only grown since the day he saw her. They stumbled, laughing as they fell onto the bed.

Julie kissed him once again as R rolled on top of her. "You are making it...very...hard...to...stop," R breathed in between kisses.

"So don't," Julie said, wrapping her legs around his waist, his arousal firm on her stomach. He turned red, and she laughed. "I love you so much." He rubbed her back, pressing tiny kisses all over her face.

"I love you, too." he promised.

He discovered all of her beauty that night, memorizing every detail he could, kissing nearly every inch of her. She was surprised at his incredible and almost awkward cautiousness, and how gentle he was. He was very surprising. (In more ways than one.) She noticed things too; his pale skin, the scars criss-crossing his chest, how good it felt to tangled her fingers in his hair. There were times where he would freeze up and chuckle awkwardly.

"I'm probably not doing anything right," he murmured.

"God, no," Julie breathed, "You're doing _everything_ right. Don't stop."

It was perfect, in an odd, not-entirely-perfect but so new and so blissful to them way.

_She loves me, and I love her back and it's so great and this is all because I gave her warm towels!_ R thought, laughing to himself as they laid in bed.

"Hm?" Julie hummed sleepily.

"Being a human is so funny," he said, not quite sure why.

Julie smiled. "Yeah, I guess it is."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion**

**Chapter 7: Sketching**

To everyone's delight, Christmas Eve as well as Christmas Day were days off from work. Julie took advantage of the extra time to sleep. Nora cooked Christmas goodies out of what she could, and R found himself baffled about what to do again.

Christmas Eve was rather quiet, a lazy, comfortable day for everyone. R was staring out the window when it started to snow. He loved snow, even as a zombie. It was sort of magical to him. A strange inspiration hit him and he fumbled to get a piece of paper and pencil. He had never drawn before, when he was dead, holding a pencil was something he didn't know how to do. But now he just wanted to make something. He wished he had some clay; back in the airport he found clay once. He was fascinated with it for hours until he abandoned it to find food, and to his despair he found that clay hardens. At least now a pencil and paper sufficed.

First, he drew a hill. His hand was still a bit shaky, but it was okay. _I'm going to do this,_ he told himself. _Wait. No. Too quiet._

He turned on the iPod music and smiled. This was perfect.

Losing track of time, R sketched a city. It had a slight resemblance to Citi Stadium, but he tried to make it different. It was a little shaky, a little crude, but it was rewarding. It was relaxing. R was proud of himself.

He pulled another piece a paper out and just doodled little things. Wildflowers, the sun, the moon, a pair of eyes. He was getting lost again when Julie came downstairs, just waking up from a nap, in a big t-shirt, sweatpants, and messy hair. "Hey, cutie," she mumbled sleepily, peering over R's back. "What's this?"

"Doodles," he answered, continuing to elaborate the drawing of a car.

"This is good! Is that Mercey?" Looking at it again, R noticed it _did _bare a resemblance to his old car.

A smile turned up the corners of his mouth. "Yeah. Yeah, it is." Julie then picked up the sketch of the landscape.

"Aw," Julie sighed. "This isn't bad, R! You've got a talent."

"Hm, I guess." Julie leaned down to kiss the back of his neck, and R quickly noted that she wasn't wearing a bra-her breasts were pressed against his back. He turned around in his chair and pecked her lips.

"Ah," Nora stammered, coming into the room. Julie laughed.

"Come on in, we weren't doing anything." Nora winked at R and joined them in the kitchen.

"Watcha been doing?" she asked.

"R's been drawing." Julie said.

"Don't make a big deal." He still hated it.

"Lemme see," Nora took the picture of the landscape and beamed. "This is good, R."

"Thanks," he murmured.

"Who's eyes are these?" Julie asked, looking at the eyes he had drawn.

"They look a _lot_ like yours." Nora said.

He twisted his mouth into a confused expression. He didn't mean to make them look like Julie's. Then again, he didn't mean to make the car look like the red Mercedes. But they did look like his love's eyes. "I didn't mean to do that," he admitted. "But, yeah, I guess they're yours." Julie, still a bit sleepy, smiled, and touched his had softly.

"I like it." she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

Nora let out a light laugh. "Hey guys, don't remind me I'm alone here."

"You're not alone." R promised. She shook her head with a half-smile.

"Hey, I invited Marcus over for Christmas," Nora said. R's eyes widened with excitement. "He's excited to see you, too. He's been hitting on me."

"Oh, he does that to everyone,"

"Even me," Julie added under her breath.

"He told me I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen." R actually laughed out loud.

"That's great."

Nora covered her smile. "Yeah, it was." Julie nudged her.

R sat back and watched the girls talk. If every Christmas was like this, he knew he could handle it.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion.**

**Chapter 8: Christmas**

It snowed all night on Christmas Eve, and when everyone woke up they were surprised to see several inches of snow on the ground. Marcus was expected to come over that evening, so Nora and R made a big breakfast, and were each thanked with a big kiss on the cheek from Julie. They all ate heartily and talked and laughed.

Afterwards, Julie (and her full tummy) laid down on the couch and fell into a slumber.

"God, she could sleep forever," Nora laughed. R covered her with a quilt and took a moment to stoke her hair. Him and Nora chatted for awhile, sitting by the window with the sun streaming out, warming their backs. They had become quite good friends. Nora had a lot to say about just about everything, and he liked to listen. She was different. R liked different.

"You still don't talk very much, R," she said softly.

He didn't respond right away. "Well...I like to listen. I talk a lot, I think. I talk _enough._"

Nora pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Hm. Well I like to listen, too. You're very interesting."

"You are, too, Nora."

"I think I talk _too_ much, sometimes. It's just, like...no one besides Julie has ever really listened to me, ya know? Perry did, most of the time, but...I dunno, sometimes I talk and the person who I'm talking to acts like they're listening, but they're not really. And I just ramble on, so I get why no one would wanna listen, but," she chuckled awkwardly. "I dunno."

"You have a lot of thoughts. It's good to let those thoughts out. And people should listen. I'll listen. And Julie will listen. She does plenty of it, trust me."

Nora cocked her head to the side quizzically. "What does that mean?"

"At night, I have all these weird thoughts..." R chewed his lip, embarrassed. "And I ask Julie all these dumb questions, or I just ramble on about whatever. Like, 'what if one day I die again and come back as a zombie _again_?' or 'what if dogs get songs stuck in their heads? Can dogs understand songs?' Stupid stuff like that."

His friend laughed out loud. "We all have thoughts like that at night, R. I think our brains like to bombard us with the silliest ones when we're _trying_ to fall asleep."

Julie awoke soon after that, peering over the couch at Nora and R. "Hi, cutie," R said for a change. Julie smiled.

"Hi," she replied, coming over to sit on the floor in front of them. "Is it still Christmas or did I sleep through it?"

"It's Christmas," Nora replied.

The blonde girl stretched, tilting her head back. R watched her hair fall back and her body curve, focusing on the way her back arched. She would be a good subject to draw...

"I gotta start getting dinner ready. Marcus should be here soon." Nora said, leaving the couple in the living room.

"Can you hand me that notebook?" R asked, and Julie did. She sat silently, happy to watch the snow and listen to the music Nora had put on.

"Sketching?" she asked.

He nodded, clearly focused on what he was doing. "I'm glad you found out you like to draw."

"Me too,"

"Are you excited to see Marcus?"

He nodded honestly in reply.

"I hope he's gotten...better,"

"Marcus will...always be Marcus." he said. "You'll like him. You barely met him."

While they talked, he sketched a rough facial portrait of Julie. He would work on full body portraits later, but for his first time it didn't look too bad. He debated showing her for awhile until he finally decided to just do it. "Look at this," he said, handing her the notebook. She gasped.

"R," she sighed. "Aw. Wow."

"Do you think it looks like you?"

"Yes. It's wonderful."

"I don't think I can capture all your beauty on a piece of paper," he said, joining her on the floor. "I tried."

She blushed. "You're so cheesy."

"You're so beautiful, Julie. I love you." She wrapped him up in her arms and kissed him, _"mmmmmm"_-ing happily as she ran her fingers through his hair. He tightened his grip on her and deepened the kiss, all the emotion he felt rising in his chest and biting and burning his eyes. She pulled away for a moment to grab some air and saw his watery eyes. "Are you crying?"

"I thought...thought I was getting better with that," he sniffed. She giggled and shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. I don't mind." she kissed him again, her skin flushing as he rubbed her back, his hands coming down to the small of her back, then the swell of her hips and butt. "Mm, yes," she moaned, quietly because she knew Nora was in the next room. "God," she gasped as his lips made his way to her neck. "You're good at this."

He gently laid her on the ground, lifting up her sweater and kissing her stomach, then coming back up to her lips. "We...maybe...maybe we should stop..."

"Do...do you wanna stop?"

He groaned, "God, no." He gripped her behind a little tighter, pressing his hips to hers. Julie released a real moan, not even caring at this point.

"Oh, God, R, I-I..." she never finished her sentence, because the doorbell rang. They quickly scrambled off each other and dashed to the door. Julie didn't even have time to fix her frizzy hair.

Marcus was standing in the doorway, smiling. He and R shared a hug. "You're looking better," Julie noticed.

"Y-Yeah...well...N-Nora has been a bi-big...help," he said, casting a wink at Nora, who had just entered the room.

"Hi, Marcus," she said, rolling his eyes at his comment. She eyed Julie's messy appearance and flushed face as well as R's, and raised an eyebrow at her friend. Julie pursed her lips and blushed, looking away. "Well," Nora began, "Dinner is ready, when y'all want it."

"I'm going to go change," Julie said, dashing upstairs.

"H-how a-are you doing...man?" Marcus asked.

R pondered that question for a moment, then replied, "Very, very good."

"Yo-you look...so...different...so...human," his friend commented. "I-I'm still w-workin' on...it..."

"You're getting there. And you're doing great." Julie descended the stairs in a red, form-fitting turtleneck and dressy pants. Nora had slipped off to change as well, appearing in a cream sweater dress, which showed off her miles-long legs.

"A dress? Didn't know those existed anymore," Julie said as they dished out dinner.

Nora smiled. "I've actually never worn this. It's practically centuries old. I'm surprised it still fit."

"Fits...pre-pretty well...t-too." Marcus murmured to R, who gave him a light punch.

R was glad to be with his friend again, to joke and talk. Marcus was definitely becoming-slowly but surely, and with a lot of help-human. Something about that excited him. He wanted him to be human and to experience the things he had and to have awkward first times.

Although Marcus did not eat, he was quite the entertainer at the dinner table, making jokes and telling stories about him and R's escapades in the airport. Nora giggled so hard wine bubbled in her nose. Julie talked about the happier days, when her and Nora and Perry (though she didn't talk about him as much) sat under blue skies and talked about nothing in particular, dozing off and smelling the grass underneath them. Nora told some stories about people she had met while working as a nurse and what they had shared with her.

"It's funny, how you encounter people in the weirdest places." she mused quietly.

"Definitely," Julie replied, brushing R's hand under the table.

Once dinner was done, they exchanged gifts in the living room. There weren't many, but they were thankful just the same.

To start off, Nora gave R a leather journal. "I got this for you before I knew you liked to draw, so I guess it works out." she smiled.

"This is beautiful, Nora," he said, giving her the present he had gotten her in return. It was an old, but in surprisingly good condition, teddy bear, something he had actually taken from his airplane. (he and Julie had gone back to retrieve some things earlier in the year) The bear was dresses up like a doctor, with glasses on his nose. Nora sighed.

"Aw, how cute!" she exclaimed. "I love it."

Next he gave a gift to Marcus, an awful erotic book that he had picked up from the airport. "I'll teach you to read it sometime," he promised, and Julie doubled over in laughter. The only thing Marcus cared about was the woman on the cover's breasts, which were popping out of her dress.

"C-cool."

Marcus got Nora a daisy hair clip (again, from the airport-it was amazing what you could find there), which she immediately put on. "Ooh! It's adorable!" Julie said. "Good choice, Marcus." Upon that, Marcus gave her a big, army green coat.

"Be-because it...looks...badass..and you're...badass." he exclaimed. Julie smiled and nodded in approval.

Marcus gave R a figurine of a red car. "Found it in someone's pocket...thought you'd want it."

"Cute," R said happily.

Julie gave Nora a big book on medical related things that she had apparently been wanting, Marcus a very old _Playboy_ magazine, (to which he responded "Very...funny..." but she smirked in response anyway) and finally, she gave R a large set of art related things: pencils, colored pencils, pastels, crayons, and the like. "This was probably...so expensive..." R said.

"I wanted to do something special," she said softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Yeah, she went dashing out to get it last night," Nora chimed.

R gave Julie a beautiful necklace with an emerald pendant. It was simple but gorgeous. "Your eyes look beautiful with it on," he said, tucking her hair behind her ear. Julie blushed and looked away as he began to caress her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"Hey...save it for the bedroom..." Marcus said, and Nora nodded in agreement. R glared at them.

* * *

When the night came to a close, R and Julie crawled into bed and Julie groaned quietly. "Are you okay?"

"I think I ate too much," she admitted, embarrassed. "My stomach hurts." R reached over and began to rub her stomach. She let out a contented sigh, and he rubbed her stomach for awhile more until she leaned over to kiss him. They did some of that, too, for quite awhile. "What do you want to do?" she asked.

"I just...I actually just want to sleep." he replied, an awkward chuckle escaping.

"Mm, me too, actually," she said, lying down beside him. "Are you happy, R? Did you have a good Christmas?"

"I am very content, and yes, I loved Christmas."

"I'm glad." They snuggled up together and fell asleep. Both of them had faint smiles turning the corners of their lips.

**A/N: Unnecessarily long and even more unnecessarily fluffy. That's how I roll, I guess. :P I like reviews!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates! **

**Chapter 9: New Year's**

New Year's used to big a very big event. Julie told R there used to be big parties, and that a ball used to drop in New York City and there was champagne and people kissed at midnight. Now, people didn't even stay up til midnight, usually.

"Now, every year, we just hope for a better one." Julie said sleepily, her head on his chest as they laid on the couch, basking in the sun that streamed from the window.

"Do you think things are gonna...get better?"

"They already have."

* * *

R worked on his sketching every moment he could. He had started full-body portraits-Nora standing in the kitchen cooking, Julie sitting on the couch, staring into space, even Marcus, staring wide-eyed at some magazine. He was getting better.

He got his hands on any sort of art he could, studying it intently. Given, the portraits were his favorite. Some of the paintings were of nude women, which, when Marcus stumbled upon him staring at one, nudged and called him a perv.

"It's _art_. Not _Playboy._" R replied.

Secretly, he dreamed of painting someone that way. Julie in particular. He wanted to capture every beautiful curve, every small detail that he loved about her, onto a piece of paper. But he didn't know how to ask for something like that, or how she would react.

On December 31st, Julie grabbed a hot cup of tea and wrapped herself up in a blanket. She paged through one of R's sketchbooks that was lying around. She smiled, running her finger along the lines of his drawings. She noticed one of his portraits of her, amazed at how wonderfully it was drawn. He drew her with a gleam in her eyes and a dimple in her cheek. He had captioned the picture "_Julie"_ with a small heart next to her name. She blushed. His love for her was so endearing and so sweet and she loved him back so much and she just wanted to show him in some way.

He walked in then, seeing her with his sketchbook. "Hey," he said, peering over her shoulder. "I drew that."

Julie chuckled. "It's beautiful. What time is it?"

"Eleven. Do you realize it'll be a new year tomorrow?"

"Yeah...it's funny, I stopped thinking about it a few years ago. Everything blended together...all the months and years, it was all the same to me."

"Is it still like that for you?"

"Not really. Things have definitely changed for me." R sat down next to her, tracing her fingers very softly. "I love you, R."

He looked up, briefly, and smiled. "I know."

"It's like...I look at your drawings of me and...I think 'this is how he sees me'. And..I just...I think...'wow. I love him, so much. I want to show him how much I love him'. And I don't know how, so I have to tell you in my...very...un-eloquent words." R reached out to run his fingers through her hair. "Things have changed so much this year, and so much has changed, things are really getting better...and at some point I just stopped believing that would happen, ya know? My only hope is things will just...go on from here and get better. You bring so much happiness to my life, R." she sighed, shaking her head. "I sound so stupid."

"No, you don't," he replied, setting his head in her lap, staring up at her upside down. "I see so much beauty in you, Julie, because you see beauty in a world where there is so little of it."

They talked in soft, low, sleepy voices, for quite awhile, though they spent several minutes looking up at each other, not saying anything. "Hey, look, almost midnight." R noticed. They watched the clock in silence until it turned to midnight. They then turned to each other, and kissed with all their hope and their love and their happiness and everything they had. Julie wondered, and hoped, that maybe other couples were kissing now, too. That they had the same hope in their hearts.

"Happy New Year," R whispered.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I have ****_loved_**** writing this story. I love these characters and I love all the feedback I've gotten and all the support.**

**However, it is time for this story to come to an end. I may add onto this, in the future, if I feel the need to, but for now, this is the last chapter. Thank you all for reading!**

**Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion.**

**Chapter 10: Dreaming**

"R," Julie said, her voice hoarse, lazy. Her morning voice. They both had just woken up.

"Mmm?"

"You talk in your sleep?"

"I do?"

"Yeah. It's...cute."

"What did I say?"

"Just mumbling. Couldn't make out a lot of words."

R rolled over on his back. "I had a dream last night. I haven't had any dreams since I became alive. It was...weird."

Julie propped herself up on her elbow, smiling. "That's great."

"I was...on a boat...with you, and it was raining, and you were laughing, and then...the boat was sinking. And you started crying, and I didn't want you to cry, so I held you tight, and the boat kept sinking, and...I woke up before we sunk...what does that even..._mean?_"

She giggled, running her fingers through his hair. "It probably doesn't mean anything. Dreams usually don't, they're just stories our brains make up."

"Not very good stories," R murmured under his breath, which made Julie laugh out loud.

"It's hard to explain dreams. Ask Nora, she's better at this." she ran in her fingers idly over his bare chest.

"What kind of dreams do you have?" he asked.

She thought for several moments before saying, "Dreams about my family."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No, R, it's okay," she said. "More so about my mom, anyway. My dad-he was...cold. You know how he was. He was dead a long time ago. I will never, _ever_ end up like that."

"Even if you lose me?" A breath caught in her throat and she looked away.

"Even if I lose you, like my dad lost my mom...I won't end up like that. And I hope to God I never do lose you." R nodded in agreement.

"Julie, would you ever marry me?" he asked, changing the subject. She sighed happily.

"Yeah...I would. I want to. But...not now."

"Mm-hmm, it's a little too soon, I guess. But someday."

"Someday," Julie agreed. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"The wedding would be small, though, wouldn't it..." Julie mumbled, more to herself than him.

"That would be nice. Just a few people, Nora and Marcus and...there would be wildflowers, and you could put them in your hair...and we could do it when it was sunny, and we could dance barefoot outside and...yeah." R trailed off, a grin on his face. "It would be pretty great."

"It would." Julie agreed, grinning as well. "But...not now." she broke from her spell, pushing herself out of bed.

"Hey. Julie," R got out of bed as well, taking her hands in his. "Don't lose hope, okay? You said it the other day, things are getting better! Maybe someday soon...this can happen. Just, please, Julie, never lose hope. You have so much hope. I love your hope. I love _you._"

Julie pursed her lips, laughing softly. "I love you, too. I try, ya know...and it's gotten easier."

"Told you," R pressed his forehead against hers. "Julie?"

"Hm?"

"Someday." he promised.

She pecked his lips, then pulled him into an embrace. "Someday."


End file.
